It is well-known to provide fuel for a power plant for a vehicle or facility (e.g. to power an engine or generator). It is also well-known to provide a vehicle with an engine or power plant that uses a fuel such as gasoline (e.g. a passenger, commercial vehicle, etc.) or diesel fuel (e.g. a truck, bus, work vehicle, train, etc.). Fuel for the vehicle is stored in a tank or chamber in the vehicle and dispensed to the power plant as needed.
It is also known to use natural gas which is relatively abundant (at present) and widely available through an established distribution network as a fuel source for power plant (e.g. as a fuel for combustion). Natural gas has methane as its main component and exists as a gas (vapor) at ambient environmental conditions of temperature and pressure. Natural gas is readily available in the environment as a fossil fuel and/or can be produced from decomposing/landfill waste or at other man-made facilities. The relatively large storage volume required for natural gas in sufficient quantity under ambient conditions in the vapor phase for ordinary vehicle use renders natural gas less practical for use as a vehicle fuel in such condition.
Other fuels such as gasoline or diesel fuel are in a liquid phase at typical ambient environmental conditions and do not require substantial conditioning for use and may be dispensed to a vehicle and stored/use on a vehicle without substantial inconvenience or substantial reduction in net energy efficiency. Accordingly, it is known to compress or liquefy natural gas for storage and transport in commercial and industrial applications (including for use on vehicles that carry the fuel supply). Natural gas is conditioned into commercially and industrially available compressed natural gas (CNG) and liquid natural gas (LNG).
The energy ordinarily required to condition and maintain CNG and LNG natural gas for storage, transport and use as a fuel under typical ambient environmental conditions reduces the net energy efficiency of natural gas. Capital and operating costs are associated with the physical plant and equipment required to compress, store and maintain CNG for transport and use (e.g. equipment such as compressor systems, suitable pressure vessels and conduits/pipelines, etc.) or to condense/liquefy, store and maintain LNG for transport and use (e.g. refrigeration/heat exchange systems, cryogenic storage vessels, insulated conduits/pipelines, etc.). Although natural gas/methane is a suitable and cost-competitive fuel and readily available to be used as a combustion fuel, the amount of required input energy and the physical plant requirements in systems using CNG or LNG tends to reduce attractiveness of using natural gas as a vehicle fuel, particularly in view of the alternatives such as gasoline and diesel fuel, notwithstanding the relatively cost-efficient and convenient availability of natural gas/methane as a fuel through the present abundance and existing distribution network for methane/natural gas.